My brother's graduation at Fort Jackson, Jan 2007

My mom and I are planning on flying out to Ft. Jackson for his graduation. We have never been out there before and are looking for suggestions on hotels, if we should get a rental car or rely on cabs, and good places to eat, hang out etc.

My brother's graduation at Fort Jackson, Jan 2007

I would rent a car. Columbia (where Ft. Jackson is located) is kind of spread out and mass transit (ie, bus system) is minimal. Besides, your brother will probably be given a short (afternoon) pass after the graduation ceremonies and will want to get off base for a few hours I am sure. Fort Jackson is on the outskirts of Columbia (eastern side) and the airport is on the opposite side of town. All of the major hotel chains have multiple locations in Columbia (it is the state capital), so finding lodging should not be a problem. There is an area in downtown Columbia known as the Vista (it is just west of the Capitol building) with lots of nice restaurants and clubs. If you do decide to go there (which I recommend), check and see if the University of South Carolina has a home basketball game that day. Their coliseum is only a few blocks away, and the area gets very crowded after big events down there. There is another area in town several blocks away called Five Points; it has a lot of restaurants and clubs also, but is geared to more of a college crowd as it is on the edge of the University of South Carolina campus near a lot of dorms and private student housing. If you go out to the Harbison area in the suburbs (north of town off I-26), you can find all of the national chain restaurants, shopping malls, etc.

Check the Weather Channel right before you come down. While we are not nearly as cold in January as Minnesota, the weather can vary a lot in temperature from day to day. It can be 75 degrees as a high one day and 45 degrees the next day. Hope you enjoy your visit to South Carolina.

My brother's graduation at Fort Jackson, Jan 2007

A couple of other suggestionsto add to the previous writer%26#39;s: rather than going to the chain restaurants, if you want to try something that is quintessential Columbia, try Maurice Bessinger%26#39;s Piggy Park. It%26#39;s barbecue like you have never had. It tastes like no other barbecue. I%26#39;ve seen it mentioned in Southern Living magazine as one of the top BBQ restaurants in the South. They have them all over town, but the closest to Ft. Jackson would be out Two Notch Road. Also, if you would like to try Southern (down home style) cuisine, go to Lizard%26#39;s Thicket. They are also all over town and feature a meat, and three vegitables for about $6.00. They have a good breakfast, too. Neither of these places are ';upscale';. Go to the Vista area for that. However, Maurice%26#39;s and Lizard%26#39;s Thicket offer a bit of local color. I am from Columbia, but live in VA now. I go to both restaurants whenever I%26#39;m home. You will not find any mozzerella sticks, chicken tenders, cajun grilled tilapia or mango chutney at these restaraunts. I go to Rush%26#39;s (also all over town and one is on Decker Boulevard near Ft. Jackson) for hamburgers. One word of caution. There are no clean, comfortable, modestly priced hotels in Columbia. I have found that if you spend less that $80, it will be a dive. Unfortunately, I can%26#39;t recommend where you should stay. I have lots of suggestions where you shouldn%26#39;t! I also find that it is frequently hard to get reservations anywhere. The area is frequently booked all over. I can%26#39;t explain why, but thought I%26#39;d warn you.

Oh, and you will definitely need a car. To say that public transportation is ';minimal'; would be an understatement. Cabs would be very inconvenient and expensive. It would be cheaper to rent a car.

I recommend Homewood Suites in Columbia. It%26#39;s right on the interstate so you can hop right on and get over to Jackson easily. You%26#39;ll get a nice suite for the price of a hotel room, and if you want a diversion, the zoo is just down the road. Best wishes.

I highly recommend calling Victory Travel on base and see if you can get a room at the hotel on base. Also rent your car from Enterpise on base, they are the cheapest by far, but book far in advance to get one!

Taxis are very expensive,, 45 dollars from the airport to hotel 19 miles away. Enterprise will pick you up!

Thank you for all of your great suggestions. We ended up making reservations more towards downtown and are planning a longer stay just to check the area out. We will be there for an additional 3 days after my brother leaves for Fort Bragg for AIT. We have a rental car and plenty of time to navigate the state. If you know of anything that would be a must see in the day trip area please let me know!